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BOSTON – The 2016 Stonewall Book Awards were announced Monday, January 11 by the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Round Table (GLBTRT) of the American Library Association (ALA), during the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Boston.

The Stonewall Book Awards are given annually to English-language works of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience and include the Stonewall Book Awards – Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s and Young Adult Literature Award, the Stonewall Book Awards – Barbara Gittings Literature award and the Stonewall Book Awards – Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award. The awards will be presented to the winning authors or editors at the American Library Association Annual Conference in Orlando in June.

“This year, the Children/YA and adult Stonewall Book Award committees considered and read over 450 works featuring gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender themes. Readers and libraries have come to rely on the Stonewall Book Awards in choosing quality LGBT literature. I trust that the 2016 selection will join past Stonewall winners as staples on readers’ and libraries’ shelves.” said Stonewall Book Awards Committee Chair Robert Graziano.

The Stonewall Book Awards – Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s and Young Adult Literature Award, part of the ALA Youth Media Awards, saw the first-ever separate awarding of children’s and young adult categories for 2016.

“George” by Alex Gino (Oakland, CA), published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.; and “The Porcupine of Truth” by Bill Konigsberg (Chandler, AZ), published by Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., were selected for the Children’s and Young Adult titles, respectively.

“Sex is a Funny Word: a book about bodies, feelings, and YOU,” written by Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth, also illustrated by Fiona Smyth, published by Seven Stories Press.

“Wonders of the Invisible World,” written by Christopher Barzak, a Borzoi Book published by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.

The Stonewall Book Awards – Barbara Gittings Literature Award was given to “The Gods of Tango,” written by Carolina De Robertis and published by Alfred A. Knopf.

A complete and intricate story of how one inhabits otherness in a structured society, “The Gods of Tango” begins in 1913 after Leda travels from Italy to Buenos Aires seeking her husband.

4 Stonewall Book Awards – Barbara Gittings Literature Award Honor Books were named: “Apocalpyse Baby,” written by Virginie Despentes and published by The Feminist Press at the City University of New York.

“For Your Own Good,” written by Leah Horlick and published by Caitlin Press.

“Jam On The Vine,” written by LaShonda Katrice Barnett and published by Grove Press, an imprint of Grove Atlantic.

“Lum,” written by Libby Ware and published by She Writes Press.

The Stonewall Book Awards – Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award was given to “Speak Now: Marriage Equality on Trial,” written by Kenji Yoshino and published by Crown Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a Division of Random House LLC, a Penguin Random House Company.

In “Speak Now,” Kenji Yoshino provides a clear and accessible account of the background to the 2010 lawsuit against Proposition 8 in California and the life-changing Supreme Court case of Hollingsworth v. Perry.

4 Stonewall Book Awards – Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award Honor Books were named: “Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family,” written by Amy Ellis Nutt and published by Random House.

“The Gay Revolution: The Story of the Struggle,” written by Lillian Faderman and published by Simon & Schuster.

“Marie Equi: Radical Politics and Outlaw Passions,” written by Michael Helquist and published by Oregon State University Press.

“Violence Against Queer People: Race, Class, Gender, and the Persistence of Anti-LGBT Discrimination,” written by Doug Meyer and published by Rutgers University Press.

The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Round Table of the American Library Association is committed to serving the information needs of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender professional library community and the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender information and access needs of individuals at large. GLBTRT is committed to encouraging and supporting the free and necessary access to all information, as reflected by the missions of the American Library Association and democratic institutions.